Boeing exec says 737 data to prompt serious look at higher output

The logo of Boeing (BA) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Boeing must look seriously at raising 737 production based on current data, a senior company executive said on Wednesday.

Asked at a Singapore Airshow briefing whether Boeing was considering increasing its planned production rate of 57 aircraft a month, Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth said: “Right now I look out into the future, and we are oversold at those rates, so we are going to watch it closely in terms of meltaway.”

“If those numbers don’t go away, we have to think very seriously about that (increasing production),” he said.

Meltaway is industry jargon for airlines that fail to take delivery or cancel orders. Manufacturers overbook, or sell more planes than they can produce, in the narrowbody segment in order to build in a buffer against such disruption.

On Tuesday, Boeing and Airbus signalled they were looking at higher production rates.